poetryfandomcom-20200223-history
Alpha Zulu 1500
Alpha Zulu 15:00 by Christopher J. Bradley This collection of works is my third chapbook. I have pieced it together here from an assortment of websites and files. Simply put, each poem in the table of contents is a link to a full web page. Try not to stray far from this main book by using your back button often or bookmarking this page. Thank you for reading. I will let the works stand for themselves. -Christopher J. Bradley Friday, August 20, 2004 Alpha Zulu 15:00 by Christopher J. Bradley Revised 6/1/2004 Second Revision 11/3/2006 Paintings If only more dreamers existed by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:21:51 AM If only more dreamers existed The sky would be filled with prism clouds. The angles and curves would meld like A well crafted pool game with english And french vanilla ice cream as well. Today the morning is cold And the clouds are grey But for each Dreamer Or Sleeper Who Awakens The Colors Brighten And The Bleach is Siphoned From The Rivers To Be Used For More Constructive Clothes Washing. Tequila in a golden morning Is the only drink for me On that day When I reach Club Medicine On Every One Of The 7 Million Beaches Of The First 3 Planets. Eggs and Spaghetti Sauce By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 12:19:21 PM ©2003 When I was in third grade The notion of this combo Made me want to vomit But the nuns made us eat it anyway Now I look forward to the occasional Italian Omelet With Lots of gooey Mozzarella And sautéed garlic mushrooms inside. Just writing this is making me hungry Entering the water By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 11:23:44 AM ©2003 Entering the water In a Shower Bath Is Soothing And Relaxing to the soul. You can just lay back And sing your troubles away As the blues take your mood While the water splashes down on your chest. It is good to be myself With my tingling beard scratching my neck While I soap under my arms and atop my chest. And dream of a milder wind that will uplift my house. Find your Fires by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 Find your fires In a canadian maple leaf 102.1 The Edge (www.edge.ca) They change seasonally And the music passes with the time Or alternately Listen to hip hop on MTV2 It's getting hot in here So take off all your sweaters And I'll give you some New Orleans Beads On The Cusp of Next February's Tuesday. Full Hearts by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 Full hearts Can Never Be Broken. It's Like The Measure Of Innocence In A Child's Eyes When They Are Opened To Sunday School. The Miracle Is There When The Curtains To Knowledge Are Opened That The Word Is The Truth. In Every Library On Every Continent. 2 Generations by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 I've seen 2 generations of geese Move over the winds of the North Traveling to their summer homes And reporting back each year With their honking calls Their life in spring Renews me From your hand. Mirror Dance By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 12:59:36 PM ©2003 The two mirrors face each other Like opposing armies The Blue and Grey Of The Civil War Era. In My Dining Room. One Sits Upon The Refurbished Player Piano The Other Upon The Armoire And the sands travel into them As I rest upon the table. If you look closely enough There is a third mirror here Almost transparent The glass in the face Of the antique China Cabinet. And I can see myself in there Aging in Porcelain In One Hundred Years. My Sky Is Beautiful 9/19/2003 6:53:50 AM ©2003 by Christopher J. Bradley My sky is beautiful He is golden like a sunrise. His breath is warm and humid to my fingers. And he smiles at me when I call to him. His four strong saplings Of the seasons Winter Spring Summer and Fall Bound up into the air To catch these bones Which I cast into eternity. He rises with me at dawn And his chimes whistle in the daily breeze He prances with me into the evening hours And licks at my feet like The cold slush of a frozen morning in the snow. His innocence is like a child’s dream of driving down An open road to an amusement park beyond the gates of heaven. Which he expresses in his sunny call. His mammalian tail flashes into the darkness of the clearest night Where his pupils flash the reflections of the constellations and the Smiling shining face of the moon Rising with the tides of Ontario. When the drizzle comes to a halt He blows in with the wind and the scattered colorful leaves of autumn Bringing with him the tracks of the weather in the mud Of the thinned turf of our fenced in yard. I look both up and down to see him As his tail is in the dippers and fans out like the flay Of a peacocks iridescent shining feathers of the spectrum. I invite him to join me in watching the television And find him across from me as I read engrossed in the radio hum On the front porch. And when I go to sleep My sky curls up at my feet and snoozes quietly As we dream. Oil Paint By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 11:42:44 AM ©2003 When I used Oil Paint I did not see Niagara Falls Like my brother Dan Or A wooded path Like my sister Sharon. I saw an industrial city scape Dusted with the tinge of red orange clouds In The sunset Of a magenta evening. And so I mixed my colors Red Yellow and White And pitted them against My black buildings The brush flashing In The Hands. Of A Musician But Not a Painter. Squirrel Visits by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:19:46 AM I've received some Squirrel Visits this morning And on some previous mornings. Their little teeth are stuck in Acorns And they wave at me with their paws Just before they begin to dig To plant the winter's food. They are complemented By a squadron of sparrows That play in the dirt At the end of the driveway And read the playings of the bugs in the grass To feed their squeaking children. I've seen the first Blue Jay In a couple years Fly above Like a protector of this Glenn And a sign That the season is turning. Street Hop Marigold By Christopher J. Bradley 9/30/2003 2:16:53 AM ©2003 Marigolds are sweet Like Daisies But Not as Delicious As Tulips Or The Iris of a Tigress. Joy Is In The Luck Of The Banzai Of A Chinese Festival In Manhattan Beach Uptown On West 52nd In The Hills Of The N Rails Above Astoria's High Rises And The Greek Diner At The Corner Of McKormick And Henry Davidson The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance Is American In Nature While Automobiles Owe It to Mercedes. Don't Ask Me What The Poets Are Doing A Violet Thunder Is Blowing A Kid Around In My Oven Fresh Rear View While The Tinsel Of A Finch's Nest Is Dangling Above The Moses Robert Express In Mandalay Village This Side Of Okinawa's Harbors Where The Marines Of Necronomicon Raise Their Americans. The Fishermen Have Netted 150 Million Acid Trippers And That's Just Within The Domestic United States The Other 6 Continents Are The Tide That Swing November. With Kofi On The Scales And The Lieutenant Governor Of Tomorrow In At The Starting Gates. The Tangle Gun Is Loaded And Set To Stun We're About To Put The Breaks On The Elephants And The Crazy Foam In The Sorority Dorms Is Flowing Like Waves Of Pointsettas In A Power Puff Nightmare. Sigma - Phi - Epsilon Pisses On The Houses Of Delta Delta Delta. Thought You Might Get A Kick Out Of That. Chicago Is A Volleyball Court With Kordell Stuart Throwing Pearls At The Eagles And Bledsoe Is About To Throw A 50 Yard Pass To Reed While Tommy Maddoxes Crew Plays Roughneck Smashmouth In The Mud. The Chrysler Team Is Eaking Out Some Monster Sales For A Rainy Day. And I'm Going To Own 4 Mustangs But I'm Not Buying Them From Ford. Best Regards From Your American Brother Someday We'll Do Lunch On The Moon And Hang Out With Ludas Rooster Cause You Know The Dirty South Is My Litterbox! Much Respect To The Hyperbolic Fro. Sun Dried Tomato Spread By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 11:28:01 AM ©2003 One evening my friend and I were walking down Elmwood Avenue We spotted a new bakery called the Metro. They sold different kinds of breads Made with Spinach Garlic and Tomato. I ordered a Loaf of Tomato The Clerk offered me some spread. The spread was delicious It was tomato with all of the energy Of a warm summer day Stored up like a starburst within. It was a true thorough delight To my overtaxed taste buds I vowed to return And one day I will make that stop Again. The Dancing Moths By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 7:53:25 AM ©2003 The moths on my front porch Dance in spirals up and down When I play music On my little SONY alarm clock. They like to fizzle to The lamplight While I read in the darkness Of A Warm summer night Harley Davidsons and Cop Sirens Blare above the jazzy pop On Adjacent Streets While My Moths Dance For Me In Their Own Choir Of The Lonely Moments In The Moon. The Fisherman and The Cigar by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:00:52 AM Don't let your bones chill you. This is some great work. I know the place you are speaking of And I've never seen a fisherman Smoking a cigar. I have seen him with a corncob pipe In an old fraternity sweatshirt Dancing around in God's country Make that the planet That falls in a grove Beneath A summer's Sky With the Mercury of Sable In his back pocket. I know he's still there. And he'll be back From the docks Before we can say He's been out All afternoon. The Mercury of Sable By Christopher J. Bradley 9/19/2003 7:29:58 AM ©2003 Sable is dressed in Gold today But her temperament is like quicksilver She shreds the curtains on windows that are closed To open viewpoints on the greater world outside. For her small world under a scorching sun She is enormous in her radiant glamour. Her coat weathered as armour Gleams brightly fortified with protein and butter And her fury in her escapes in the green On a glamorous spring day. She has sky as a sattelite as they Prance together within the clouds And the angellic constellations Of the mantle and Edison’s Solution to the Darkness. Sable is always eager to share the gravy of an evenings table And is an expert at extracting our sympathies with Her loving and protective eyes. She is a professional at protecting us From the mail carriers wiles And stares at my father’s knee As he absorbs the morning Blotter And soaks up the world News Report On Channel Seven. Sable glistens and smiles the entire morning When you reach toward the sunlight to pet her And even her shadow smiles in the moonlight In quiet reciprocation for any small extension of a charitable embrace. Sable used to a country girl But she is getting used to the subburban thumping Of the automobiles of the college students who live all over our streets And our neighbors loud drunken parties. She is usually a good girl And can often detect by smell The hand of a hidden treat And she will never shake hands with a stranger She has learned from the school of hard knocks That the wrong hand can be very very unkind. Sable loves to rest in the Coolness of my mother’s blankets In the dog days of summer And she has a gift for warming Her feet in the nakedness of a starry night. We often see her stellar round balls of fuzzy fur Hurtling through the cosmos of our well lived In home and to be perfectly honest It is often difficult to escape her while clothed. The mercury of Sable is in her tender eyes and quick temper Which she will only show to the properly initiated visitor. Tiamat By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 ©2003 My friend Scott brought up the Tiamat the other day. I Remember Playing That Old Game Dungeons and Dragons. When I was a kid It was so popular That All The kids watched the TV cartoon The Tiamat will not affect me It has its place in history But Those Involved Have long since turned to other prey. Two Flocks of Geese By Christopher J. Bradley 9/19/2003 6:35:04 AM ©2003 One afternoon recently I saw two flocks of Geese Headed South for the winter I was in the passenger seat of my aunt’s Buick. I long for their kind of freedom But not their fear of the nozzle Of the camouflaged hunter’s shotgun. Their song as they passed overhead Was like that of a choir of traffic Like the honking horns of midtown Manhattan. May they never cease to sing. Vincent By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 11:34:01 AM ©2003 Vincent was a warrior diplomat His laser was locked and loaded for skeet The other droids didn’t like Vincent So they tried everything in their power to dismantle him. But he’s out there on his estate now Ready to make a difference When the time comes And the Cygnus crushes into the Black Hole. For Vincent There is a career in governance Because he is not only civil But also wise. In silence he dances to Bulls on Parade. What do I read in Print? By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 12:56:17 PM © 2003 I read Whitman and Williams And Dickenson and Angelou I’m in the midst of Dickens And Langston Hughes Too. I’ve read Gibson And Melville And Ellison And Tan And Erdrich And Vonnegut And Kipling And Footprints In The Sand. My Next Conquest is Frost And Cummings Will Join And I Don’t Plan To Stop Until I’ve Exhausted my Brain. What do I read on-line? By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 12:52:21 PM ©2003 On line I read The New York Times The La Times And The Chicago Sun-Times (Ebert Of Course). I read the Washington post And CNN And I visit C-Span And Congress.Org. I read the London Times And The International Herald Tribune And I read Yahoo News And Listen to BBC Radio 1 Tunes. I’m A Mover And A Shaker For Slashdot And Slate And I Always Stay Up Very Very Late. Why October Is My Least Favorite Month by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:40:42 AM October for me Is the month of anonymous threats And police tailings It Is The Month of Horror Movies And the Darkness Of Personality And The Natural Religions. Don't get me wrong The colors of the sidewalks of October Can Crackle around beautifully In The wind Blowing in from The West So this year I'm gathering my wooden Stakes Silver Bullets And Cloves of Garlic And battening down the hatches I Might Even Grab a Pail Of Water. Creatures of the night beware This time I'm prepared. My Black Friend Ike By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 ©2003 At the boys club In the 4th grade Ike taught me binary numbers And the “BASIC” programming language On the Apple IIc. He introduced me to Chris and Harry And the other Pool Sharks that stayed late And I learned a little bit of slang. Harry who could play guitar Taught me the scales And the beginning of Stairway to Heaven But I’d be hard pressed to remember them now. I wanted to meditate Like the Kung Fu Masters. So Ike introduced me To Dave. Ike was a great character And a helpful friend. Bread Pretzel’s And Icees By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 11:11:49 AM ©2003 Grammy used to love to buy us Warm Bread Pretzels and Cold Icees When She and Mom Would Go Lingere Shopping At Sears. We didn’t know one way or the other But it tasted good and it Kept us Quiet Shopping in a mall was fun. I remember hiding in the centers Of clothing racks and Peeking out at the world Like a hyper active Ferret. Hey Mom Can you buy me a Bread Pretzel sometime? Even now that I am grown Like a six foot Grizzly? The Spider And The Hornet By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 7:49:47 AM ©2003 One morning when I was six I was at Mike’s House And I went up on his Front Porch It must have been Hide and Seek. I found myself Eye to Antenna With a Hornet Trapped In a Spider’s Web The Hornet Struggled And in a moment The Spider Came And Sewed Him Up. It Was the last I Ever Saw Of That Hornet. But Now Spiders And I Are Friends. I Wonder If Spiders Like Green Tomatoes As Well As I? Zodiac Firecracker By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 12:26:01 PM ©2003 My friend Ike was half Chinese Half Italian Like Me he is an American. I used to have a lot of fun hanging out with him In 5th and 6th grades. We played basketball with his older brother In their driveway up the street In The Summertime Near the Fourth of July. He always had firecrackers We used to shoot them off Bottle Rockets Black Cats and Jumping Jacks. His mother used to make the best breakfast soup. At our 10 year high school reunion Ike told us that he owned A computer consulting firm in North Carolina. I always knew that he had intelligence. 1000 years by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:12:05 AM It seems I've been asleep too long To not recognize the beautiful young women Who walk up and down Right there in front of me. The ones I've driven in my car Back and forth to school The ones I envy With all their parent's gifts. They are there Walking among us Daylight and Night time And I just couldnt' see them Until this morning After 1000 years Of Falling From Skyscrapers In the Daredevil Mists Of The Falling Cataracts. 5764 by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/29/2003 I missed my friend tonight He is celebrating in his way And I was insulted by urchins And I had to get up and leave. They will find that their time is short If they haven't already. I listened to the Smashing Pumpkins on the way home And my Karma police didn't pull me over Because I'm not drunk. Shalom A Flip to LA By Christopher J. Bradley 7/27/2003 5:53:31 AM ©2003 In a Buffalo Moment I send a Flip to LA. To a Nighthawk Who Writes In The Wind About Mass Destruction A Ghost In The Darkness. She Was Waiting There On A Barstool For A Friend Of A Friend In The Evening Hours At A Hotel In The Subburbs. Things Were Quiet In The Evening But They Heated Up Over a Feta Topped Burger When She Asked Me Why I Thought I Could Be Marketable. An Interesting Question Never Before Broached To Me In All Of My Years Of Creative Writing. The Words Flow From My Fingers Even Now Knowing That She Has Been On The Road In The Pages Of The Book That Rested On My Table While The Coffee Simmered. A Windswept Fantasy Girl From The West Coast With Images Certified By Japan Probably The Most American of Women Not to Be Wrestled With. She Had A Mind and Thought I Needed Some Coaching I Appreciated Her Kind Thoughts. She Told Me About The Groundhog Day Verdict. Something I will have to Keep in Mind. Its Time For Her To Unwind Maybe She’ll Share Time With That Friend And Things Will Go Smoothly. I Hope They Do. Lord Give My Entertainment The Strength To Maybe Help This To Happen. For The Moment Of All Moments Is On The Rise. A Flip To LA Like A Thermonuclear Kernel To The Back Of The Lips At a Drive In Movie Lot Out In The Sticks But From Here There’s No Telling Where The Night Lights Might Lead. A Waltz in Black by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:10:21 AM A Waltz in Black With Jackie Chan in a Tuxedo Dancing With His Girl To The Gentle Pulses of PM Dawn. The Insects Sing In The Silence Of A Morning Under The Haze Of Tobacco Smoke And I Ride On The Cycle Into Jane's Flight Simulations On The Web Of A Spider Long Since Past Away In His Own Webs. "Caught a light sneeze Dreamed a little dream" ©2003 by Christopher J. Bradley 9/29/2003 This cool weather is giving me a cold. It's more than a little upsetting. Where the heck is everybody? I thought I was among a throng of daytrippers? My dogs are keeping me company and barking at the TV. Tori Amos is on Comedy Central. WOMAD is still the best. Dancing into Chilly Sprinkles 9/17/2003 8:50:06 AM ©2003 by Christopher J. Bradley My ears were a fuzzbox without muffs The winter was cold And I was appreciating the heat from a subway grate While waiting in line. The Front St. Bus picked us up And we were off to the Pleasure Joker’s Lair And the writing on the pages before us Started to move around. My Blonde Rose and her girl Were getting off on the bus too Because we were going to be dancing chilly sprinkles All night long While the Mark II’s swiveled And the girls in the white gloves Were doing the grind. "Face painted cigarette white" by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 I saw the space girls today Two of them And then I heard Treble Charger While I talked with them About CK Be and One And they traded comments About Kate Moss and Revlon And Moss' Baby. It turns out I knew one from high school And this is one of the best Live versions I've ever laid ears to. They smelled happy. Flipside By Christopher J. Bradley 7/27/2003 6:18:14 AM ©2003 When I was a kid I used to punch deck on The Flipside It was a CGBUG BBS That I Reconstructed From CNET Sold By Epstein. The Whole Thing Was Really Pretty Simple Compared With Today’s Technology But It Gave Me The Measure To Write And Keep A Few Maybe One Or Two Users Interested. We used to talk a lot about Gibson And Star Wars And Dungeons And Dragons The Things That Keep People Guessing. There Were Many Things To Discuss. In any case Now We Have The Flipmode Squad With Busta Rhymes To Rattle Off Riddims To Tunes That Beep – Click – Beep Boom Boom Boom And Then Move To The Beat With Their Logos And Emblems. I Can’t Say He’s Mine But I’ve Always Been A Fan Ever Since Woo Hah And The First Time I Saw Him Tripping Out On Those U.B. Sun Stations. People Use The Library Well There. And Now I’m Going To Tune In To The Future And Send A Flip To The Globe. "Move..Get Out The Way" by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 Move Get Out The Way Oh No Fights Out Someone's trying to step On a 30 year old man. Believe Me This is curdled milk And nothing is going to change my options. Stay away from the children pal Cause the ones I know carry weapons. No Photos by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:04:51 AM Don't photograph me I don't want to be in any of your college ads You've treated me wrong You're making me take tests I've already taken. I've Stared your William Shakespeare Newton Minsky And Leibowicz All in the face And I don't see a bushel full of apples On my front porch. Much less I don't even have a Front Porch. Where's my promise of a life in the subburbs? Where's my promise of a life with Milk in the Fridge. Where's my promise of a baseball game in October? Where's my promise of a family? You've taken my rights as a person And as a man And now you want my photo Sorry! I'm keeping my image to myself And you can take your white silk shirt And wear it on some other occasion Because it's not going to get me into a fight. Next time your kid asks me for an autograph You can pay full price for the limited edition. Pepsi and Creative Writing By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 7:28:20 AM ©2003 When I was first starting out With my creative writing class Each morning without fail I would open a bottle of Pepsi. It was the “Choice of a New Generation” And a great way to start the day. I was babbling nonsense most of the time And Scribbling down Various Inanities. Yes This was the world as I experienced it. Radio Steve By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 11:37:49 AM ©2003 Radio Steve is an awesome friend When he has time he talks to me He came to visit Christmas 2001 And brought me a big bag of Candy. His mother father aunts and uncles All work very hard They are a very industrious bunch And his sisters are very talented. Steve graduated Oswego And Lived in New York (Where I Visited) And worked for a TV Station In Public Relations. Now he’s a newscaster Full time at the biggest News Radio Station I don’t doubt he’ll go far After all he’s shaken hands with the mayor. Spike Lee Joint By Christopher J. Bradley 7/27/2003 6:27:56 AM ©2003 Hey How Long Till That Next Spike Lee Joint? That Last One Had Me Bamboozled. I was Looking Forward To Something From Him Soon I Heard He Was Working On K-Mart Ads. I Want To See Something Hip And Fresh Like Do The Right Thing Or He Got Game. Denzel Spoke To Me In That One. When’s The Next Time I Get To See A Portrait Of An Aspiring Clocker Who Escapes The PJ’s. Like Some One From A Juantana Vera Dream? When’s The Next Time I Get To See The Fury And Ecstasy Of Summer Of Sam Played Out In The Hot Summer Of A Cooling Movie House. Bring It On Spike And Let The World Have It Because We Need To Hear Your Voice Bring The Power To The People. The Bills are on the Wire By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 12:15:48 PM ©2003 The Buffalo Bills Are On The Wire They’ve Got the hookup For their Playoff Berth. They are a demolition truck With Wire and Adams And they rip grass Like Wasps with Reed. The next team doesn’t stand a chance With Bledsoe at the helm And a killer running back Like Reliable Henry. I can see them land hooking Into the Super Bowl Possibly knocking out Oakland Or Running Over Tampa. Do you see what I see? The Class Presidency 1990 By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 12:35:52 PM ©2003 I stood up on a table In 1990 To try to get people to vote For me to Be Class President. I was running against Eugene Williams and Tiffany Pisa I thought If I won It might turn my luck around. Coach dragged me down And pulled me by the ear into his office And I got the lecture of a lifetime. I was demolished in my white pinstriped suit But I only narrowly lost At least I can poke fun at that. The Curtain Doesn’t Open By Christopher J. Bradley 7/27/2003 8:26:24 AM ©2003 The curtain doesn’t open On This production Until I yell Action And The Lights Come Up. The Premiere Screening Will Be Danced Upon By Winona Ryder And Johnny Depp. The Story A Raver In 93 An Allen Town Recovery Alcoholic A Computer Tech in 95 A Student Graduated In 98 Web Published By 99. A Political Maven In 2000. Clean 10 Years In 2003. It’s Nothing To Sneeze At. Can You Say You’ve Pulled The Gamut Of The 90s? I’m working All The Switches Now Jim’s Running The Projector. Look Out 2004. The Matrix Is Done. The Greens are In The Brocoli by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 The Greens Are In The Brocoli And The Spinach Of A Spanakopita And the Lime Of Old Fashioned Kool Aid. The Lake Of Ophelia Is Green And She Is Purple In The Water But Hamlet Survives Until The Task Is Complete. “The Renegades of Funk” by Christopher J. Bradley 9/27/2003 1:14:58 PM ©2003 The Renegades of Funk Are here among us And inside us. We are changing the face Of the planet In the eternal groove Of Pirate Radio On Hip Hop Zulu Nation With Voodoo Television And Nitrous Exhalation. I have them on my wall In a collage of classic and modern cars. And they aren’t going anywhere They’ve just elevated in a stock split And the unsettled pavement Is going to rise like riveted Astroturf Under a spiked heel. Nothing is going to replace Doctors and Nurses's. VA could make bteetr use of its budget to hire more of both instead of trying to convince us everything is ok, its NOT! Instead of using best practices across the board each hospital is mostly left to them to run. If McDonalds can make a cheese burger taste the same through all around the world VA should. What you get and what it taste like is a real problem. Right now VA is TRYING WAY too hard to change its image without changing the Product, its not going to work.Start with the attitude of VA employees, they are there to Serve Veterans and to GIVE benefits the idea its free clinic needs to be drummed out and eradicated. Next let's address Fraud, I see TONS of people all the time trying to cheat on stuff like Travel Pay and other services. VA could save a TON on cracking down on even ATTEMPTING to defraud VA will mean a 6 month loss of ALL services, Second Attempt 1 Year, Third Attempt Ban for life. Any successful fraud would be a Ban for Life.What has VA done to Improve on the Ground Healthcare, these are the ONLY metric's that should be looked at. Your just throwing stuff up against the wall and seeing what sticks.Start by having the Claims Rep running each claim to call the Vet and tell them which way the claim is going, correct the problems before they come up, every time you mess something up it just causes 6 months to a year to correct something that should have only taken 3 min, IF SOMEONE WOULD CALL FIRST!Fire the current advisors, them telling you yes and the dumb programs coming out need to GO! The NASCAR jerk that spent a HALF MILLION on that needs to ride out on a POLE!Where is all the income for the research VA is paying for, companies are making HUGE bucks off what VA is paying for. We should get OWNERSHIP rights off of VA research dollars, put it into MORE RESEARCH!..VA needs to hire everyday Vet's not just the Privileged Few their voice should be equal to any 4 Star! Veteran's OverSite!Call me I can tell you what to do next Nothing is going to replace Doctors and Nurses's. VA could make bteetr use of its budget to hire more of both instead of trying to convince us everything is ok, its NOT! Instead of using best practices across the board each hospital is mostly left to them to run. If McDonalds can make a cheese burger taste the same through all around the world VA should. What you get and what it taste like is a real problem. Right now VA is TRYING WAY too hard to change its image without changing the Product, its not going to work.Start with the attitude of VA employees, they are there to Serve Veterans and to GIVE benefits the idea its free clinic needs to be drummed out and eradicated. Next let's address Fraud, I see TONS of people all the time trying to cheat on stuff like Travel Pay and other services. VA could save a TON on cracking down on even ATTEMPTING to defraud VA will mean a 6 month loss of ALL services, Second Attempt 1 Year, Third Attempt Ban for life. Any successful fraud would be a Ban for Life.What has VA done to Improve on the Ground Healthcare, these are the ONLY metric's that should be looked at. Your just throwing stuff up against the wall and seeing what sticks.Start by having the Claims Rep running each claim to call the Vet and tell them which way the claim is going, correct the problems before they come up, every time you mess something up it just causes 6 months to a year to correct something that should have only taken 3 min, IF SOMEONE WOULD CALL FIRST!Fire the current advisors, them telling you yes and the dumb programs coming out need to GO! The NASCAR jerk that spent a HALF MILLION on that needs to ride out on a POLE!Where is all the income for the research VA is paying for, companies are making HUGE bucks off what VA is paying for. We should get OWNERSHIP rights off of VA research dollars, put it into MORE RESEARCH!..VA needs to hire everyday Vet's not just the Privileged Few their voice should be equal to any 4 Star! Veteran's OverSite!Call me I can tell you what to do next This one looks good By Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 2:20:05 AM http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/wkp-news-fighting19f.html I stumbled upon this link while doing some work On getting all of my e-mail sorted And I began to wonder Maybe there’s something to Substance over form. It’s all just a part of Mike Cevers Growing Pains I suppose. Because Believing In Something That Isn’t Real Can Only Let You Down. Video Games by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:30:00 AM To me Phantasmagoria Is a video game Hardly an artistic endeavor But then There can be beauty in the graphic. I think Ghost Stories are the most telling They tell of Ancestors trapped on the human plane And that is where the thought Of possibly being able to talk to them Once again Might be a beautiful thing. Whatcha know about Jam Master J? By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 12:10:57 PM ©2003 What do you know about Jam Master J? I know the story of Rock Meets Rap. I know how to walk this way. “But that boy’s white?” You say. And I Say I grew up a Native American English Syrian Lebanese and Welsh thang. I’m kind of a mix And Jam Master J Knew How to Mix It Up. I Won’t Forget him for it either. The Jam Master knew how to rock it to the Bourgeoisie And he’ll still be bangin’ kid On the other side. Whatever Peyton by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:39:52 AM Whatever Peyton You won two Let me clue you in To the pressure of my teams Washington Minnisota Carolina Seattle Buffalo Indianapolis Denver And Kansas City Have all also won two And it won't be long Before you have to face one of them. Plan on getting sacked. Battle Chess by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:22:53 AM Battle Chess was my generation's Wizard's chess. I watch as Ron sacrifices himself In Harry Potter's game On the television in the living room And I think Wouldn't it be interesting If an Attraction like that Found it's way into The Oz of my hometown. Defenders of The Crown by Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 7:56:53 AM ©2003 There were four of us Ryan Martin Tony And Myself Back Then We Believed For King and Country. In The Dark Ages of The Commodore We Jousted We Hurled Cattle And We ate Pizza. The Nights Were Long Like Tonight And The Soda Was Cold And We Were Innocent We Were All The Light In The Darkness. Glenn and Rori By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 7:45:41 AM ©2003 Glen and Rori Visited me in the Park On The Picnic Afternoon During Which Jason the Wolf Showed Us Skateboard Tricks On The Roof Of a Cooler Chest. He Almost Ended Up With A Face Plant. We Had Guns Containing Disappearing Ink Called Zap Its And We Chased Around Like Fools Trying To Soak One Another With Water Balloons. Tammy Was There To Keep Me In Good Spirits If I wasn’t the host I’d have snuck off with her somewhere. Nobody Remembers That Afternoon better than I. Jimmy Abodanzza By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 12:43:21 PM ©2003 Jimmy Abodanzaa was Jim Menkenna’s friend I spent some time with these two in detention One specific day being the day I stood on the table. He was a fan of IRON MAIDEN and Madonna. He was good at drawing Grafitti And his father used to own a photocopier. Jimmy Abodanzaa was smarter than he let on And today stays in contact with Kelly who had a bonfire In her back yard two years ago. He is a New Yorker as well But seems more reserved now And more in control of things. I am glad to see this in him And wish him only the best. Jimmy Menkenna By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 12:39:16 PM ©2003 Jimmy Menkenna was one of Rob Brown’s friends I can and will venture to say he was the most visually talented artist That I ever met in high school. He also played guitar and liked to listen to keyboard music He ended up in my art class one year Where we designed plates and made clay sculptures. When I ran for president He drew Bart Simpson posters for me I hope he is doing well right now in New York. Karen By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 12:48:16 PM ©2003 Karen was Rob’s girlfriend She was a check out clerk for Super Duper in High School That was where Rob Worked Too. We spent time at Karen’s House On The Back Porch On Some Dark Summer nights Playing Drinking Games And trying to make Playing card Pyramids. Karen played many mind games With Rob threatening the worst Of terrible things at times But she always kept her Neurosis quiet To The Rest of The World. Rob Could Handle It He Was a Skater. Psychosis Catch 22 By Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/17/2003 11:46:30 AM I wrote my greatest work While out of control Some would say “that’s cliché’” But tell me If it hadn’t been for DNA and synaptic sizzle Perhaps the artist wouldn’t have discovered his art. Heller knew And even though I never read him I saw the movie. And two hours of Trauma Can last a lifetime. The Bicycle Was Freedom 9/17/2003 8:17:32 AM ©2003 by Christopher J. Bradley After bike camp My legs were ripped. The bicycle was freedom On a whole other scale. I could ride all the way out Military Rd To Visit Tammy Or ride the other direction To play RPG’s with Ryan and our friends. 10 speeds and flexible brakes In those days were all I needed. I had been used to carrying a spare tire Just for emergencies. What a trip it could have been If they’d had small cell phones In The 80’s. The Front 242 Concert By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 11:03:18 AM ©2003 The Fall of my Senior Year of High School I took Charlene Rob And Karen To Toronto to see Front 242 We arrived late and missed the opening band. It was at the Concert Hall on Yonge St. We stayed in the balcony for the entire show And watched black leathered Slam Dancers Have at One another Under the glow of the video Screen. CGI was new then. We used to think Car Crashes were cool. 1957 by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/29/2003 11:59:22 PM Today I drive down the Eisenhower expressway Our city has always had yellow busses And always will. I see them in the morning At the school And I see them in the afternoon As I drive to lunch. Late in coming The executive had prevailed In establishing The truth of the law. Beige Zoot by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:33:30 AM Back in the days When kicks were the filet And jazz noodled into your ears My Zoot fit was Beige. It was a riot And Not Quiet And the Horns went BeBopaloo. But right to this day In the place that we stay We go global like a foot soldier troop With 2 Pat on the Sears And Steve O on the Gears And Mike Setting the Tempo of Grind With a Cancer Researcher And His Friend The Med Boarder And myself in the pages of time My beige zoot comes with a helmet So don't think I'm not well put When you find me out on the front lines. Birds Encrypted by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:24:11 AM My birds Have ION cannons And are moving With the swiftness of Aerosol chased Houseflies. They are woven In Traffic With My Disks of Mishkal In the heart of Alabama On the Edge of Florida's Tropic Launchpad. The O rings are burning For My Two Fallen Shuttles And The Skies Are Afire With Their Grey Afterflare. May The Raptors Avenge Them On The Court of the Nations While Carter Receives His Report From Dashcle and Shumer. I have seen the power Of Air Force ROTC And I have dedicated my statements To Cool Vaughn The Chicago Regulator. Bob Hope By Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 7/29/03 Bob Hope Joins Bing Crosby And Danny Kay Heroes And Entertainers Of An Era From The Last Great War That Could Sing And Dance And Make Comedic Gestures That Would Set Our Hearts Alight Here’s To Their Christmas In The Stars. Flexgrip You've Served Me Well by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:31:33 AM Through endless hours in lecture mayhem And notetaking to the brink of extinction You have carried me to the other side To the place where the inkwell runs free. Today is the beginning of a new mission And I have you to share it with Barring interruptions And there is a new evening light Shining through my sky blue curtains. Let the Festival begin And the acrobats and jugglers Jesters and Mimes Chase Through Victoria's Secret With a Dog (Make It Small) While The Man Under The Street In Harlem Practices Politics In The Age Old Impotent fashion of those with their feet stumping Mississipi with Kerosene. Let The North Wind Blow South And Freeze The Dead Brass Balls of General Lee. We AMERICANS will live free. Francis Scott Key By Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 8/30/03 The other morning I had a discussion with my father about Francis Scott Key. I was amazed to remember that he was a poet observing the battle in 1812 from a ships deck while watching the explosions arc over the battlefield which is one of the reasons that we have fireworks on the fourth of July today. Step forward a few years and every night we have fireworks at 10 o’clock over the falls. It’s almost as if we are celebrating daily the events of that fateful battle for independence and it’s impact on us all. The battle rages on. Today a bomb went off in Iraq threatening to stir the entire country into turmoil further hampering our efforts to secure the region and making the situation that much more deadly for our troops and fellow Americans abroad. I strongly urge anyone to support the position of getting the United Nations involved but rather than as an aggressor a peace keeper. A good friend of mine whom I have included on the list tonight who is well versed in History reminded me that Einstein said that the war following world war III will be fought with Sticks and Stones because there will be nothing else left. I would tend to agree with that thinking considering that with the nuclear arms race still in full swing we are at greater and greater risk of potential global catastrophe. I believe that in the days ahead if we take careful account of our actions and believe in our creator as a compassionate one we may yet have a chance to extend our survival factor as a species. Extinction is nothing new to the Earth. We need to be concerned about it now. I believe the aims of Pat in his conservation efforts are noble and just and would like to encourage him to step forward as a pioneer in the field and to write as often as possible regarding his interests in politics green ethics and the current affairs of avian creatures as they know when it is going to get cold. Winter is coming soon and it won’t be long before many of us want to climb under a blanket and do nothing but watch TV and eat Kettle Corn. I have been riding my stationary bicycle lately and am losing a little bit of weight. I actually fit into a 2x shirt yesterday that I bought from Urban street gear. I have also been seeing my doctors and lawyers lately and my parents have acquired a car for me to drive. My friend Jerry actually caught the fact that it was missing an oil cap and saved me driving the engine right into the ground the first week. I really appreciate his helping me out with that and I am glad I have made and kept his acquaintance over the past year. Many people may think that it is strange that I would continue to go to Toms to visit the people that I do there but I have made some friends in the Buffalo community that are pretty bright and talented people and I am proud to say that I know them. I miss times spent with Ryan and some of the other people I used to spend more time with but I think that Ryan has more ability than I do to travel and get himself involved in follies of an international nature than I have at the present time with some of the things that hold me to the ground. Right now those include my finances. As of December of this year if I have not succumbed to some untimely circumstance I will have cleared up every single one of my outstanding debts to a collector or creditor. I have looked into things and I should be at absolute zero and gradually climbing. I do not intend to fall back into my old patterns again and I can use all of your help and support to keep me busy and away from doing compulsive and foolish things. I have decided that I definitely have some issues to work on that require multiple forms of counseling and I have agreed with my current doctor to undergo more therapy with trying to discuss the problems that I have encountered over time. Some of the good books I have been reading lately have been Charles Dickens “Great Expectations” as recommended by Steve Schnepf (who has currently been accepted Full Time at WBEN) and Orpheus Emerged by Jack Kerouac. I have been trying to do some reading out loud Happy Belated Birthday by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 Happy Belated Birthday Superman Our New World Has Been Sailed To A Second Time And Gerhig has played his 1500th consecutive game. Tonight I was lost in the pages of the Sprorting news And rifling through pages and pages of other people's work On the poetry thread Building silver wires in the hair of two flowerchildren's Daughters. We are all over Calvin and Klein's billboards And we are making a monument to the Native Land Converted to fields of Gold In the Casinos And Oil Fields of the Reservation The Forgotten Lands Turned toward the west. I find Santana by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/29/2003 11:57:37 PM I find Santana in a Jersey Record shop And in a peace band at a Zappa Cover show And in the brickyard With the hip hop Nation. Of a New New York. Overcome The Challenge By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 1:04:53 PM ©2003 I heard Saturday’s Speech By Grey Davis And I also heard the chants building The winds are changing And I can perceive foul wind from D.C. Those of you in California Lift up your voices Say everything you can To Stop The Insanity. After All If Reagan Couldn’t Recall You should have to refuse a Recollection. Bill’s Sunday Sermon of the Truth Should not be taken Lightly There’s Nothing Wrong With Shaking Some Hands And driving home your Stake Before your House Becomes Divided. I’m Pitching a Tent With The Hair Club For Men. Ray Charles by Christopher j. Bradley ©2003 Today is the man's birthday That brought us the downhome Soul Town Electric Piano sound. I find him in the same pages of history That flow through Langston and Maya. He is a man of the city And a man of Chicago and New York. He had eyes And could see with his ears. He was a man If only I could aspire To have half of his smile. Rise Langston Rise by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:38:30 AM Rise Langston From the Ashes of The Delta Take a Knee On The Graves of Your Ancestors And pray that all of their children Not Have To suffer times such as these We are in the midst of the Texas oil war Mr. Hughes The Stakes are high And The Pot Heavy We need you to transcend your times And bring us anew to the future. I need my place in the sheltered Coverage of the Waldorf Astoria Help me cut these chains Shackled to my mind With Poison. Rise Langston And bring your harem of strong women along And let them fight the good fight Live Free or Return to the Past. Rome By Christopher J. Bradley 9/30/2003 2:20:39 AM ©2003 I feel like I went to Rome and back last night. I learned more about linguistics than I think I’ve learned in a while. Specifically the linguistics of 5000 years ago. My friend that I talk to at Tom’s is extremely gifted with World History and it is interesting to note that he has been to Washington several times. I didn’t know that until last night. I really wish I could get more of you to come and meet him. Someday we’ll all be synched up though I guess. I know one thing for certain. I am spending some mad cash in Tom’s when I have it. That place has been a great asset to me. I have met all types of people there that I never would have met otherwise and I see the people that work there as the friends that I don’t think I’ve had since it became so clear to everyone that I was somehow imbalanced. At least they can believe the truth of what it is like to have ups and downs. And these people are real people they have children and families and lives and they deserve the same respect anyone would give someone who works for Oxy or Delphi or any other business. Just because they don’t earn 20000 a year doesn’t make them any less productive citizens for their work. The world is made up of all types of people and killing and war is not a solution to any of their individual problems. And I will hold that position to the end. I have heard the message and it’s not on TV. It’s in the bookracks of the library and if you can’t hear it you should find someone to help you hear it. We are here and we’re here to stay Send The Packaderms Packing 9/17/2003 7:36:28 AM ©2003 by Christopher J. Bradley Get a tree branch And flick those huge hind quarters You’ve done everything correctly When you can say you’ve sent the elephants home. They should be driven back to Texas With a Tractor trailer hitch Maybe they can fertilize Some Ranchero Soil. Cause They Certainly Ain’t doin’ Nothin’ for Us Behind The Grinder. I want my friends back. Spies By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 11:07:17 AM ©2003 Spies are the truest weapons of war They act within the frame of what you think you know Until you wake up And find a dagger in your chest. There are spies for all parts North East West and South. Northern chill runs up my back Eastern Senators ruin my pocketbook Western directors try to steal my eyes And Southern spies are setting up for the kill. Hell Thanksgiving’s almost here Where are the scouts when you need them? The Birth of an Empire by Christopher Bradley ©2003 This morning A child was born That would strike fear into the masses And grip an iron fist over generations. We feel him today in Monday Night's Revelry And we find him on the steps Of our capitol institutions And we feel the leaves wrapped around our foreheads We feel the reeds move with his whispers And the music purrs in Octaves through our headphones. The calendar seeps into the blur Of my consciousness as I consider the wrath of his successors. The Liberty Bell Cracked By Christopher J. Bradley 8/31/2003 5:40:19 AM ©2003 The Liberty Bell Cracked In Pennsylvania For Me It was Only 3 Years Ago For Others A Long Time Back In History And Yet Others Not At All. The Bell Used To Rest Next To What Is Now First Niagara Bank A Replica Anyway When I was young To Remind Us Of Our Freedoms. I Remember Stopping By There And Looking Out At It Through My Mother’s Car Window When I was Young En Route To Round The Clock Restaurant For Hamburgers And Cokes With My Grandmother. My Grandmother On One Of Those Summer Afternoons Gave Me One Of My Uncles Old Coin Carriers It Was Metal And Could Be Attached At The Belt He Used To Use It To Deliver Newspapers. She Would Give Me Quarters To Put In It When We Brought It Back By Her House. I Regretted The Day I Was Unable To Help Her And Thought A Harm To Her All I Wanted To Do Was Read Her The Bible. She Was Calmed By It That Night Fearful Someone Had Broken In. The City Can Be A Frightful Place At Night. I Was 23. But Then They Say You’ve Been Told Not To Answer The Phone She’s Paranoid. Perhaps She Was But I Knew People Who Were Stealing From Her And I Never Had To Ask Her For Sypathy I Wish I Could Have Expressed My Own. This Past Year At Her Funeral I Read A Poem About Her Wedding Dress Photos I’d Never Seen Until The Day Before The House Had Long Been Flooded Out. And The Liberty Bell Cracked In Pennsylvania Three Years Ago Because I Had To Just Get Away From It All The Mind Numbing Horror Of It. My Aunt Is On The Same Rails. War Equals Violence by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:36:42 AM War equals violence Shortening Violence to War Makes It Sound Nice Maybe I can clarify things War is blood and children weeping War is concussion bombs deafening old and young alike War is murder and deconstruction of humans With no regard for stabalization. A victimless war cannot be won The gunners in their turrets with their Second day hangovers wouldn't have it any other way. And that's speaking of the legal buzzes War and pacification are not synonymous See how they apply the Jihad to their turncoats? We as global citizens Must join hands and put an end To not only war But also purposeless terror. Which I'm afraid to say War also perpetuates. "We Choose To Go To The Moon" by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:18:30 AM "We Choose to Go to the Moon" With A Spacecraft Full Of Hallucinogenic Visions. The Witchdoctor Provides His Insights And Makes Us Ready For The Ascendancy Of A New Level Of Drama In The Taking Back. Of The House That Always Should Have Been Ours And The Disruptors Of Power Will Be Disrupted Themselves For All Power Belongs To The Omnipresent One And He Is Not To Be Toyed With. "We Choose To Go To The Moon" They've Taken Us There Then And They Are Going To Build Us A Tent There And Serve Us Bottled Water And Orange Juice Straight From Florida Enter My Covert Vortex by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 You have found my Ace of Spades He is Ever Present In Both Sleeves of My Jacket Pocket. He Smiles Upon You All With Both Jokers In A Game Where One Eyed Jacks Are Wild. We Have Played This Game Before But Humanity Has Always Triumphed In All Of Its Splendor Over A Lack Therof. Good Regardless of its evenness in nature Will always triumph over evil And my Knights on the Dark Side Will Rise Up and Win The Game With a Good Defensive Parlay. We Hold Down Streets Blocks Zip and Area Codes We Hold Down Nations And Stations And Global Communications Networks. And We Are Americans We Came Here To Stay And We Came Here To Win. Bears and Moose and Loons! By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 8:26:58 AM ©2003 We went on an exploration of the Northeast Lake System About 7 years ago. It was interesting I went with Pat Alberto Arroyo Maria Lucia And Tatis. Alberto and the Girls were Spanish Having Arrived From Montreal Where They Were Studying English Abroad Paid For by Anderssen Consulting. It was Amazing To Talk to people From a different Part Of The World. We Rented Our Canoes And Purchased Lake System Maps And Then Headed Out From Our Campground Into The Wilderness. The Ducks and Loons Were on Our Horizon And You Could Hear Them In The Noiseless Morning. We Traveled Like Indians Among The Jumping Fish and Surface Bugs On The Water And the Splashes Kept Us Moist As We Traded Off Steering Duties. About 4 hours into the journey I realized what a great deal of work it was going to be As we met our first Portage We emptied the canoes And then carried all our equipment and the canoes over ground Only to start again and continue on To Our first Night’s Campground. We did 2 Portages That Day. At the campground we ate Peanut Butter and Jelly and Spaghettio’s From A Can Cold. We had to carry Every Scrap of Trash with us Lest the Bears Sniff It Out Or The Preserve Become Littered. We never saw a Moose But The Idea That They Were Out There Among Us Had Me A Little Spooked. From What I had heard they are huge At Night You Could Hear The Wild Dogs of The Woods Howl. In The Moonlight The Stars Shone Bright Against The Water. We Pitched Tents Before It Was Too Late. The Girls Were Conservative But Were All Over Alberto. He Was A Man Of The World. So We Slept And Rose To The Excruciating Fact That There Are No Toilets In The Woods. And That Workout Does Things To Your Insides. Boston Lobster and Spade By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 10:56:17 AM ©2003 Ryan and I went to Boston For Spring Break One Year We stayed at The Comfort Inn It was being remodeled and was cheap. We went to several Irish Bars after St. Patrick’s Day Because he wanted to see his “half of the city” Some of the names of the places Included Cheers The Purple Shamrock The Black Rose and Kitty O’Sheas. I Insisted On A Stop at The Arrow Pub (Across From Harvard). Somehow we found with the patience of the night auditor A good place to eat Lobster and For this I am eternally grateful to him. For there was no other significant point To the entire excursion. Chaos Table By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 7:40:19 AM ©2003 I’m writing atop the chaos table It looks good thrice a year Right now it’s got everything on it And nothing of immediate use. I could unwrap the Wired Magazine Or Sift through old newspapers But Then if I were doing This My pen would be silent Contributing to the unrest. I stare at sixteen cans of colored clay And think back to art class In high school and making little men As though I had Zeus control Of The Fates. We all fall sometimes To our portraits and portals Mine just happen to be static While the graying chalk face Fades under soft white luminescence. Cigars in October by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 I remember one October Smoking a cigar on the front porch To Scare the little trick or treaters Away from Smoking. I think I scared their parents More than I scared them. A Night On The Drift By Christopher J. Bradley 7/27/2003 ©2003 November 1996 Around The 22nd. The Car Was Parked In I Had 700 Dollars In The Bank And 10 In My Wallet I Went For A Bus Ride. I Had 1 Sunglass Lens In. A Topcoat All You Needed In the Winter Chill With A Sweatshirt. The Buffalo Night Was Actually Pretty Warm. I Walked In To The Homey Allen Town Café From Niagara Street’s Stop. All Of The Players In The Neighborhood Were There The Chess People The Teacher From A Numbered School The Girl In Her Fatigues Fresh From ROTC. I’m Watching The Television Clinton Is On Giving The State Of The Union Address The Secret Service Are In The Aisles And The Speech Is About To Conclude. I Stand And Watch Patiently To Make Sure He Leaves The Stage Safely. Chip Is There I Try To Sell Him One Of My 2 Watches For Thirty Bucks He Offers Me Five He Complains To The Owner When I Refuse To Sell I am warned that I will Have To Leave If I pester The Customers. I’ve Been A Good Customer There For 3 Years. How Can This Turn On Me? Catherine Walks In As I am Walking Out. I Walk Down The Street To The Smoke Shop And Buy A Carton Of Benson And Hedges Special King Light Menthols. I Walk Back To The Café Set Them On The Bar Stool And Offer The Cigarettes To Her As Her Wedding Present. I am Escorted Out By The Owner An Ambulance Is In The Middle Of Things The Police Are There I Am Hauled Away In Public. There Is No Where I will Go Again Like That. Fireworks By Christopher J. Bradley 7/27/2003 7:26:23 AM ©2003 My aunt and I Took In Fireworks Friday Down Under The Helipad At The Trading Post They Went Off at 10 PM As They Do Every Friday In Summer In Niagara Falls. We Listened To The Articulate Piano Meanderings Of Tori Amos While The Blasts Rained Down A Show Of Independence In The Cataract City. They Lit The Casino Night Like The Exploding Depot In Supercop On Saturday Morning. It’s Been An Interesting Weekend. Five Subject Notebook By Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/29/2003 6:34:45 PM I used to write Chemistry and Physics And Global Studies In These Things They Were Always A Mess With The Papers Falling Out Of The Pockets All Over The Place And They Didn't Hold Folders Well That's The Primary Reason I Switched To Legal Pads And Blank Folders As Long As They Were Different Colors Because Colors Are The Spice Of Life Frist By Christopher J. Bradley 7/27/2003 6:03:51 AM ©2003 I talked to Frist last night. He said that America Dominated in WWII through Attrition. We were the only country to win a war and come home. Sounds pretty significant. While we are victorious in wars. We suffered casualties. Nothing said we should have to do that And so He is of the opinion That France is no good. I can’t blame him. You don’t see me reading about France. France has had its moments. But the moment it turned its back on us Was the moment it lost its credibility on the stage. Vivendi is going in the toilet. No Surprise. Hollywood’s Not going to put up with that shit. Neither is Vegas. Not that I am a subscriber to their connections. I can barely scrape 2 cents together. Think about it for a moment though Would you want French Propaganda Streaming Into Our Theaters? Let them eat it. There should be a Microsoft pictures company Someone who could show the world the reality behind the machine. No one ever buys anything they can find for free. It would be a justification for the world as we know it. A true image of what’s really going on. We are getting seduced by the machine And it is drawing us closer and farther from one another By the pixel. Believe It. Let them steal the title American Mohawk. Make a Full Blown Action Thriller Out Of It Whore It Until The Nation Bows To The Grace Of Daniel Day Lewis. Go Cubs! by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:26:44 AM Wish I could decide Between New York and Chicago I like their baseball teams equally well I remember walking at night Past Wrigley Field Headed for an old theater club Called Medusas Where they played Industrial Music By bands like Front 242 And Skinny Puppy While I was there I heard Two Beats Ahead Who had a multi-media presentation With Televisions And videotaped performance clips Of Atom Bomb destruction. The Cubs will always be remembered by me As Richard Pryor's team Of Brewster's Millions When he had the opportunity To make as much as he could By spending all that he had. It's a wonder that things don't work that way Today. Green Tea and Bongos 9/17/2003 7:17:35 AM ©2003 by Christopher J. Bradley On Allen Street The 3B’s Café Open Until Early Morning Served Snapple and Mystic Teas. Once I had a Tarot Reader Look Into my Cards They Never Tell You Anything That You Can Recall The Next Day. The Night That I tried Green Tea I sat Playing The Bongos. Into The History Of A Grown Man In A Tie Came The Heart Of His Tribal Essense Even Though It Was Nothing Like Dancing In The Shrines Of Science. Happy Birthday Charles by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 Happy Birthday Charles I am your Buffalo Soldier I smoked my first menthol cigarette One night when we were out and shining Your daughter is a beautiful girl. I hope she is married and happy She deserves the best. And she is probably very talented with Literature. I am aware of her ability to understand Even the most infinitely ingrained subtleties of Marley From only our first meeting. Ted would have known Being from Hawaii with all of his Macadamia Nuts. Man those cookies are still good. On all of the shelves of the Blackstone Starbucks. I can hear the Evanescence of your Wine by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/29/2003 6:43:07 PM Let the Angels wings of these words I send to you Find you and bring you up from the depths of your miserable horde And free you from the cantor of the rabble. For you have been swarmed by the spirits that startle you from within and without. You are beautiful on my TV screen With your Jellyfish and Plasmatic ways. You have fallen from great heights to reach me When I was always there And will always be. Find me in the green Leaves of Grass On a picnic blanket Under a white balloon called Love I can hear the Evanescence of your Wine. "Just Because" by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 I remember that gift I still have it in the closet. I hope you learned enough to get by Without me. I could have been so much useful If I'd just grown up before sinking my teeth Into Chicago Deep Dish pizza. Lexington Override By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 8:46:09 AM ©2003 When I went to Disney with my friends I slept out in the Van in Lexington There was no room for me in the non-smoker’s apartment. I will not forget this fact And even though Kentucky is the Blue Grass State The Two Nights There And Back were Terrible But Then My Noting It here Makes No Difference To Anyone Of Conseuqence. Phone Numbers Rot by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/17/03 By now you'd think they would have Worked out a way for point to point communication That didn't require phone numbers. Whe happens when you write down A Wrong number? Do you just lose that person for good? Why do you get charged for an information call If the number you request is unlisted? This is theft and it is wrong And it should not be tolerated. Screw the phone line Go Cellular Exclusive And let the phone company eat it when they try to tax you unfairly. Ever Again. The Boy Scout Popcorn Sale Dinner By Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/19/2003 6:30:20 AM Last Friday My mother and I attended A dinner for training for a fund raiser We had great rolls Salad with Chef’s house Italian dressing And very well spiced spaghetti For desert we had French Vanilla ice cream They were trying to promote an upscale sale But my mother knew that her customers Would never go for an eighteen dollar pack So she opted for the lesser program I was just glad to go along I got some exposure to some of The Erie county troop leaders And I went home satisfied. The Falcon Stamp By Christopher J. Bradley 8/31/2003 5:09:33 AM ©2003 Three falcons flew across a postage stamps cover in the dead of night. The writer momentarily looked upon the stamp Before placing it on the envelope for the world to see. The writer thought Might the falcons have been discussing the Raptors of the Sky Like Pterodactyls yet able to disrupt landmasses built by men In the realm once only by them. Or would they have been discussing how men talk From those strangely shaped objects That they carry in their pockets? These falcons they might have been wondering about their own intelligence Or the sky even higher above their window in the atmosphere. Thinking of Voyager or Pioneer and the planets. Are we really alone in this big oxide landscape. The writer attended to the paper for a moment And then sipped from his mug Lamenting the loss of his lack of wings And took a drag on his finger. Someday the smoke signals will fly up to those heights And the avians will find their mice Skittering about in the gravel And someday The letter Will reach Its’ destination. The Ripe Blonde Rose By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 7:12:58 AM ©2003 The morning was sweet The sun dithered in through My striped Yellow Curtains And in the measure of an Instant We were joined. I thought all during this Event of coupled bliss Of the things I would Share with her in the coming weeks. She was my Blonde Rose Her scent like that of a Ripe Pomegranite If I were a rich man I’d have given her Pearls. It was no use thinking for tomorrow As the sun glinted in her brown eyes And we both gasped Sweating together In the cool of winter. The Voice Mail Card By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 11:17:30 AM ©2003 Back when I was working at Computer City As a Cashier and Stock Boy I discovered the perfect Toy It was a voice mail card. As I Became A Salesman And All of the Prices Fell It looked as though I could afford It So I went ahead and bought it. The installation was easy enough But using it as an every day item Was kind of difficult You would have to play with the mouse too much. It was very interesting to see This first generation of hardware work though It was the only Prometheus of it’s kind And it made me Breathe Fire. Well Fed By Christopher J. Bradley 7/26/2003 6:26:56 AM ©2003 Someone sent me some ugly pictures in e-mail today. Not so much in the content But in the presentation. They targeted people who are overweight. It wasn’t a nice thing to do He knew I am overweight. There is nothing I can do about that fact. I can barely walk. This man has no respect for other people And what goes around comes around. Some day he will get his due. Maybe he’ll die fat. White Board Lie 9/17/2003 7:21:28 AM ©2003 They suckered me Oh yeah They suckered me good To The Tune of Fourteen Thousand Dollars. And They Accepted My Check With Hungry Eyes. They Showed Off Your Whiteboard Miracle Of Chicago But When I Got There Taught Me Fortran 77 And Told Me I’d Have To Shred Old Documents For Them. No I Read Free You Can Take Your Textbook Stores And Shove Them Liars! May Eggs Fall Upon You And Break! Back Packer by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/29/2003 6:32:58 PM That's Him Little Man Walking Up The Drive Backpack Strapped To His Shoulders That's Him Thats my Brother Happy To Be Out of School Again He's Working Through His Math Homework Now Science Now Spelling That's him Little Man Sick of School Like Me And Its Only The First Week But He's Strong And He's Brave And He's My Brother And He's Growing Up Like a Man. Belief By Christopher J. Bradley 9/19/2003 6:43:21 AM ©2003 Belief is a raindrop Some might day they are God’s tears But I see them as His message That He hopes that we will get the message The message of Truth. The message that God will Never again destroy man by flood I saw it in the colors of a Brilliant Vibrant Rainbow Across Niagara Falls. The poet sings of the truths Of the rainbow As the tears of joy in the drama masks rain down his cheeks Like a fountain In the global amphitheater Of the universe. Coincidence by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 It almost seems like Something greater than co-incidence That the historical date Of the first printing press in America And the proposal of the Declaration of Independence Line up on September 25th. Maybe there is something to that whole Word thing... "Don't tell me what the Poets are doing.." We've been writing all this time.. Early Morning Rising By Christopher J. Bradley 7/22/2003 3:59:30 AM ©2003 Early morning rising From the slumber of night’s stillness And the cold of a lonely keyboard under monitor glow. The birds make the first sounds of morning. They invite me down to my stoop. To whistle and chirp with them In the daybreak Full of drifting sunny clouds While my smoke wafts up to meet them. Tonight I’ve been reading autobiographical Kerouac. And the coffee has settled on my stomach well with a Greek Salad. There were discussions about cell phone plans and Violent Tattooing in the coffee shop tonight. I watched my friend fill out her books. Some aboriginal Australians filtered in and out Drinking Canadian Beer. During those measures in front of the beat screen I pop off a few lines of what it’s like to be alone With the best option being a morning with the birds. It’s as if they remember me from the Faire arcade days When I would feed them on my lunch break With whatever excess bread I would have My Bible never far from my right hand. They always accepted their gift And fed their families well. One of these days Time will catch up with me And I’ll get to reading Great Expectations And the whole world will begin to gain clarity of a sort. It will mean I’ll need to spend more time in bed Even when it’s a lonely place. I know the night time is meant for those who share it Together. But with the world at your fingertips Haven’t I at least convinced you? To share a moment…? Don’t think twice about it. We are empassioned souls in our own ways. And I am sure We’ll both find that right person Because Death has no Victory When Love has Conquered On a turn Of the Daybreak. Lighten Up by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/29/2003 The world is a brighter place Than a Bridge Over Terror And An Alleyway Of Sex. We have Rainbows Too. And We Are Going To Make Them Shine In The Smiles Of The Survivors. You Can't Bring Me Down. I've Got My Savior. Lord You Don’t Have To Carry Me By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 7:31:56 AM ©2003 Lord You Don’t Have to Carry Me I’ve found you In The pages of the entire Library When I call You Come Into My Heart Your Angels Abound Thank You Lord For Keeping Them Strong. Like A Mighty Maple In Autumn Or Spring Garb You Stand Before Me Your Leaves Scattering Me To Where I Need To Be To Find Your Path We Are Not Forgotten Lord You Have Shown Us That There Is A Brilliant Beyond A Golden Sunset On A Path Of Birch And Walnut Carefully Tended by Squirrels And Sparrows. Ruby Tuesdays By Christopher J. Bradley 9/17/2003 12:22:28 PM ©2003 One day I was shopping at Galleria Mall For No Reason At All I bought some small scented candles from Yankee Candle Company. I needed a place to sit and rest for a while So I went into Ruby Tuesday’s to sit down for a while And drink a Soda. Tonight I met a good person who works there. He prayed with me that the depression would lift. Sending a good man on his way By Christopher J. Bradley 9/30/2003 2:13:08 AM ©2003 When my acquaintance left the café Rather then immediately preach at him To go with God I chose to leave him with something I thought He could immediately understand Being that he has something of A belief in chance Which in my opinion Is a lesser sin than vanity. I call it the parable of the Roulette wheel He is concerned that he won’t meet the right woman So I told him That the Roulette ball only spins for a finite period of time Before it lands and locks into place Meaning that at some point in life He is bound to find his mate. And then I flashed him a sign of Peace. The Hands That Stretch The Rainbow by Christopher J. Bradley ©2003 9/30/2003 12:08:16 AM Love is in the birth of the Sun Of The Hands that Stretch It Across the Dancing Mists of The Air While We Sit In Boats Fishing In The Cool Waters Of The Saint Lawrence As Innocent Children Of The Coming Digital Age And When It Is Here Our Children And Brothers Will Outlive Us To Carry On A Message Of Joy In The Truth That Those Hands Will Not Crush Us Under The Seas. Thursday Midnight By Christopher J. Bradley 9/19/2003 6:38:59 AM ©2003 Natalie Merchant sings over Star 102.5 I’ve met Joe again And he is calm and collected Considering the awful treatment His old employer has given him. A guy like Joe deserves better Hopefully the coming weeks Will present some new and prosperous opportunities for him. I have said a short prayer for him. Dear Lord Please help Joe secure a creative job that can afford him Happiness and good health and bring him the fortunes Of a respectable man. Thank you lord for your guidance and assistance For Joe. Amen. Very Nice by Christopher J. Bradley Miracles Happen Every Moment Of Every Day With Every New Child Born Onto A Special Event Horizon Take For Instance The First Child Of Each Year Whose Life Is Entered In A Wash Of Fireworks. Believe Me We Are Not Only All Miraculously Born But Chosen To Do The Good Will Of Our Creator. ]] Category:Catalog